The party said that the minister’s outburst was derogatory, abusive, disgraceful and undignified.

“The word scum is unacceptable coming from a minister against fellow Indians and generalising all domestic tourists,” said Pradip Padgaonkar, general secretary of the Goa unit of AAP.

While the Goa state government made high decibel announcements on attracting “high spending” tourists to the state, the move had led to the curtailing of overall arrivals. The state was now getting tourists who were out on a shoestring budget.

“The tourism industry is not marred by domestic tourists but by drug-trafficking, prostitution, gambling dens, illegal constructions and the like, all with the blessings and patronage of our politicians,” the minister alleged.

He said that the state was plagued with infrastructure woes and the garbage disposal mechanism was in shambles.

He said that with the roads of the state lined with tonnes of garbage, tourists were taking home images of these along with swaying palms and white sand beaches.

Sardesai had today claimed that he was quoted out of context but maintained that some section of tourists were “scum of the earth” for their behaviour while holidaying in Goa.